Visa Launches Long-awaited Blockchain Product for Business Clients

Payment card giant Visa launched their long anticipated international digital identity system based on blockchain architecture, Visa B2B Connect today. The company claims it will allow financial institutions to quickly process high-value corporate cross-border payments globally.

According to the company, B2B Connect will facilitate transactions from the bank of origin directly to the beneficiary bank.

"The network’s unique digital identity feature tokenizes an organization’s sensitive business information, such as banking details and account numbers, giving them a unique identifier that can be used to facilitate transactions on the network," Visa explained in a press release.

Visa B2B Connect:

Kevin Phalen, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Visa Business Solutions, said that the new product "will accelerate the evolution of how commercial payments move around the world."

"By creating a solution that facilitates direct, bank to bank transactions, we are eliminating friction associated with key industry pain points," he added.

The company partnered with Bottomline, FIS and IBM in launching B2B Connect, while Commerce Bank and Cornèr Bank tested the new product in the pilot program. B2B Connect launch will cover more than 30 global trade corridors, with an aim to expand to as many as 90 markets by end of 2019.

"Having participated in the pilot program, Commerce Bank is excited to see how this innovative solution will change the way cross-border payments are made, while increasing the speed and transparency for businesses around the world,” Brian Gordon, Senior Vice President for International Payments and Trade at Commerce Bank, was quoted as saying in the press release.

As previously reported by Cryptonews.com, Visa announced B2B Connect back in October 2018. In the same month, CEO of Visa, Al Kelly, said that he “certainly” does not view cryptocurrencies as a threat to his business right now, but added that “if we have to go there, we’ll go there.”